


How I Met Your Father

by Emeli_Thorne



Series: My Forever Is Yours [10]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, an unconventional way shane and tess met, i never know what to write in tags, idk man, just read the fic, shane being a flirt, tess being a badass of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 23:15:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14603859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeli_Thorne/pseuds/Emeli_Thorne
Summary: Tess's busy day at work gets interrupted by a violent guest. A handsome deputy shows up at the scene, sparking her interest.





	How I Met Your Father

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline: Shane and Tess’ first encounter
> 
> Trigger warning: mentions of violence, short scene of violence (nothing major or too graphic)

 

Their little town, King’s County, isn’t exactly a tourist attraction and of all the people that pass through it, more than a half of them ends up there because they took a wrong turn.

King’s County consists mostly of long-time locals – read, older people – and their offspring who chose to stay there instead of trying their luck in some of the big cities. There are, of course, people who moved to the town intentionally or just came to visit and stayed there because it offered the kind of safety and warmth that small towns usually do.

Tess is somewhere in between – her mother was born here, her father moved from Chicago after he and Tess’ mother got married because they thought a small town would suit their family better. They were both gentle souls who preferred tranquility to the noise and havoc of cities like New York or Chicago, and Tess’ mother’s hometown proved to be just what both of them sought.

After they had retired, they decided to move to Florida because apparently, that’s what people their age did, as they had informed her. Tess decided to stay because she liked the people, like the familiarity of landscapes, cafes, diners and hot spots which weren’t all that hot, to be honest. Her friends were there, her whole life was tied to that town and as much as her teachers encouraged her peers and her to see what it was like in the cities, Tess had no desire to do such thing.

After attending a college in Atlanta, she came back to her hometown and stayed, completely content with her life there. She got a job at the local motel as a manager and was earning her own money. After her parents left for Florida they left her the house, so she didn’t have to pay rent and could save up to renovate it to her taste.

She was young, independent, and had what many people of her age could only dream of: financial stability.

What was there not to love?

*        *        *       *        *

Gulping down half of her water bottle, for the tenth time that day Tess curses Jim, the repairman who promised to come and fix the AC in her office a few days ago. She can understand that he is busy, but darn it, if you promise something, you ought to take it seriously.

She sighs, grabs a damp washcloth from her desk and wipes her forehead and neck. Her shirt is already drenched in sweat, clinging to her skin. The same is with her dress pants, and she’s glad that for once she didn’t wear pantyhose underneath.

Tess feels sticky and awful as she climbs on a chair she dragged from the corner of her office and starts hitting the AC in an in vain hope her magic touch will make it work.

Of course it doesn’t.

What it does is make her hand hurt and ire build inside her body, even greater than a few minutes ago. 

Just when she’s about to phone Jim again, ready to yell at him if necessary and threaten him to drag his sorry ass right now or so help her god, her office door flings open.

India, one of the part time maids at the motel, is all puffed, her cheeks rosy, a mixture of anger and fear on her face.

“Miss Hardy, we-we have a problem,” she huffs out, already ready to leave as she turns around, and obviously expecting Tess to follow immediately after her.

Tess does exactly that, shutting the door of her office and following in India’s hastened pace towards the front of the motel as the older woman relates the issue that has her so flustered.

“Mr  Sawyer, the one from Room 10, was having a screaming match with a lady he brought in last night. You know I don’t mess with him, but this has gotten out of hand. The poor girl saw me from across the hall and ran to me like she was bein’ chased by a rabid dog,” the woman exclaims angrily then lowers her tone, looking over her shoulder at Tess as she tells her, “She’s got bruises all over her  face, Miss Hardy. The son of a bitch beat her up.”

Tess gasps, her feet hurting from practically running in her heels, the stuffiness trapped in the hallway hardly helping her already overheated body as beads of sweat drip down her back.

“Where is she now?”

Tess manages, her throat dry. This is a situation she has never faced before, so she is unsure if she is even equipped to handle it. Mr Johnson is away for a few days so she’s in charge of everything, not that she likes it exactly.

Especially not now.

India sways on her feet as heat gets to her as well. She fans herself with her hand, looking over her shoulder again. “I locked ‘er in the staff room, didn’t wanna take any chances.”

“And Mr Sawyer?”

Sneering, the woman stops suddenly, apparently to catch her breath and Tess thanks her with a nod, since she thinks her lungs were about to explode. 

India sure as hell is in better form than Tess, no doubt thanks to that morning jogging she takes with her friends.

 “Bangin’ on the door of his room. I locked ‘im too when he went back to get somethin’.”

“Good call.”

Sounding proud of herself, India chuckles and Tess joins her though she’s dreading having to face that man.

_How in the world is she going to resolve this?_

They continue their walk until they reach the staff room and when India goes to unlock the door, Tess puts her hand on her arm.

Thank you, India. Just give me the key and go call the police, please. I’ll try to handle this until they arrive.”

Somewhat reluctantly, India nods and hands her the key then heads back to her cart where she left her phone, leaving Tess standing alone outside the room, braving herself to face the girl.

She knock on the door to indicate she is coming in, then unlocks it. When she opens it, she finds herself staring at the girl whose face is a bloody mess of bruises and cuts, hair sticking out in all directions. She’s also clutching her wrist, sobbing quietly to herself.

“Hey,” Tess starts, lifting her hands up to indicate she’s no threat to her, “I’m Tess, the manager of this motel.” When the girl acknowledges her with a quick nod, Tess lowers her hands, closing the door behind her. “My friend told me you were hurt.”

The girl fidgets in her seat as Tess takes a seat on a chair next to her, choking on her words because the girl looks terribly hurt making Tess’ blood boil. Tears threaten to fall, but Tess holds them in, knowing she needs to be cool and collected for this woman.

Calmly, Tess asks the girl what her name is and if she can tell her what happened. The girl stumbles over her words in the beginning, hiccupping parts of sentences.

“Joanie. I just-I never- I just met him last night.”

“Oh, sweetie.” 

Tess wraps her arm around Joanie’s shoulder and she leans on her, her crying intensifying. Joanie’s whole body is shaking now as Tess rubs her forearm soothingly, her eyes finding nothing else to focus on but the crusted blood on the back of Joanie’s hand. She must’ve used it to wipe her face, Tess thinks absentmindedly.

“I was about to sn-sneak out b-but he woke up. Accused me or robbing 'im. We star-started arguing and, he-he hit me. Pushed me against the nightstand.”

“Oh, my god. I think we have some first aid here.”

Tess goes about the room, opening and closing the few cabinets there until she finds what she’s looking for. Sitting back on her chair, she indicates to Joanie to come closer. Then, Tess focuses on the task of cleaning Joanie’s face – quietly, methodically.

If she lets her mind wander off, she might just do something stupid, like storm off to Room 10 and-

Do what? The only sane thing is to call the police. Facing that beast on her own will not end well.

Joanie’s voice jerks her from her musings. “Fucking idiot. Now I won’t even be able to work. My boss's gonna freak,” she sniffs, pushing some of her hair back so it’s not in her face.

“I’m really sorry this happened," Tess states as she covers one of Joanie's cuts with a butterfly band aid. "India’s gonna call the police.”

Joanie jerks away, tension and trepidation gripping her at once. “No, no, no,” she mumbles, on her feet in seconds and ready to leave.

Tess stands up after her, gently taking her by the hand and begging her to stay.

It's a tricky situation, and Tess knows why Joanie's afraid. Tess however is much more afraid of what can happen to the girl if she just lets her go. 

“Hey, it’s okay," she pleads with her as Joanie doesn't move an inch, puffy eyes trained on Tess. "I'll do what I can to protect you, I promise you that. Just try to calm down.”

Tess nudges her and the girl finally assents, returning to her seat and letting Tess wrap some elastic bandage over her sprained wrist, gaze never leaving Tess even as the other woman goes to get her some water from the small fridge.

“Is he comin’?”

Her voice is shaky when she asks, taking the cold bottle from Tess but not even attempting to open it.

“No. He’s locked in his room until the police arrive.”

“Shit, shit, shit.”

Tess then stands up, resting her hand on Joanie's shoulder for a brief moment and offering her a comforting although somewhat restrained smile.

“I’m gonna leave for just a few minutes, okay? Here's the key so you can lock behind me.”

Leaving the key to Joanie, Tess turns to leave but Joanie's panicked question halts her.

“Where are you goin'?”

“Don’t worry about that. Just sit here, lock the door.”

She's out then, mad as she can be, resolute to have a word with that psycho guest.

*          *           *           *           *

Knocking on his door, Tess takes a deep breath. "Mr Sawyer?”

At first, she hears shuffling and some distant yelling before the voice grows louder.

“Open this goddamn door! I’m gonna sue all your asses!”

Rolling her eyes, Tess wills herself to act professionally (although locking your guest in a room is anything but).“Mr Sawyer, please calm down. I’m Tess Hardy, I’m the motel manager. I can’t let you out-”

He cuts her off at once, startling her by banging on the door from the inside. She steps back frightened, heart slamming in her throat.

Mr Sawyer is notorious among the staff for his rude behaviour, general untidiness and leaving no tips. Violence, though, is a whole new thing.

"The fuck you mean you can’t let me out? Open the fucking door, bitch.”

“The police have been called, they’ll be here shortly. I suggest you calm down, for your sake.”

Tess attempts to sound calm and in control amidst his threats and banging on the door even though she's definitely freaking out. There's no way of knowing what this man can and will do, especially now that his anger has been augmented by having him locked in.

Nervously looking around for any sign of India and the police, she fails to realise the banging stopped. When she returns her gaze to the door, it's opened and a very angry Mr Sawyer is staring at her, lips drawn in a sly line, eyes narrowed.

Breath catches in her throat, her mouth goes dry. As he steps towards her, Tess puts her hand up to stop him, noticing how her hand is shaking, her legs barely holding her up.

 “Mr Sawyer, get back!”

Her voice sounds weak to her own ears and she knows that this man isn’t frightened by a little thing like her.

“That bitch was gonna rob me, take ma money. You on her side, ha?” he sneers, looking her up and down with disdain in his eyes, ultimately letting out a low, menacing chuckle.

“Step back!” Tess repeats when he starts towards her again. He’s at least two heads taller than she is, thus making him tower over her.

_Stupid idea, Tess. Why the fuck did you have to come here, girl? Should’ve stayed with Joanie but no. You had to play bold. Bold and foolish._

“Fuck you, bitch. Where is she? I’m gonna settle this with that little skank.”

The way he’s moving, he’s got Tess locked between the wooden fence and himself. There’s no way to escape even if she tried which makes her feel even more stupid and desperate than before.

“Step back,” she attempts one more time, as futile as it is. Her heart is in her throat and she’s afraid she might just puke from sheer anxiety. The next part comes out shaky. “Don’t cause any more trouble, Mr Sawyer!”

Just when she thinks the man has come to his sense, he grabs her by the arm and pulls her towards him. Yelping in pain, Tess makes a fist with her other hand and swings as hard as she can, punching him right in the jaw, knocking him down.

“You bitch!”

When he goes to grab her by her leg, she kicks him in the groin and he groans, folding over himself, keeping his hands on his midsection.

“Stay down.” Pointing her finger at him, she hopes she sounds threatening enough. Her hand already started throbbing and she feels a bit queasy. This is nothing like her self-defence classes.

Leaning back against a beam, Tess tries fighting off a wave of nausea when she hears steps approaching and a loud shriek.

"Oh dear lord. Miss Hardy, you okay?

It’s India, accompanied by an officer. The woman is by her side in seconds, taking her hand and holding her firmly when she feels Tess sway.

“The hell’s goin’ on here?” The officer’s gaze goes from her to Mr Sawyer lying on the ground then back at her, eyes wide though unreadable.

He’s got a brown baseball cap with the county sheriff’s department emblem on, but Tess can still see his face. And as she looks at him, she notices the way his expression shifts as he pieces together the scene without either of them speaking a word.

Tess goes to introduce herself but Sawyer interrupts her, getting on his feet, still holding his hands over his groin.

The asshole doesn’t waste any chances and immediately goes off on a rant, blaming Tess for attacking him, dropping names and curses. Clenching her teeth, Tess is looking daggers at him, already wanting to give him a few more kicks.

The officer startles her by pointing a finger at Sawyer and screaming in his face, clearly not taking his attitude. “You! Shut up, the lady’s talkin’.”  

When he returns his gaze to her, Tess notes how soft it’s gotten, nothing like the way it was just a few seconds ago. “You okay there, miss?” Even his voice is gentle and nonthreatening, for which Tess is thankful. She’s had enough men yell at her today.

“It hurts a bit. It’s gonna be a nasty bruise,” she responds when his eyes drop to her forearm, now sporting a vibrant red splotch.

The officer comes a little closer, taking off his cap and bowing his head to look at her, his voice sounding slightly raspy, almost worried. “He hit you anywhere else?”

When she shakes her head, he gives her a nod and leads the still-raging Mr Sawyer to his patrol car parked at the motel entrance. Tess gets a glimpse of the officer shoving that asshole against the car before making him turn.

She assumes the officer’s interrogating the asshole so she instructs India to go bring Joanie. The woman is reluctant to leave her, but Tess assures her she’s going to be fine, forcing a smile for emphasis.

*       *       *      *      *   

It’s about half an hour later when they all finish giving their statements. Their esteemed guest in sitting in the back of, as she came to know, deputy Walsh’s car. Joanie’s going to stay at the motel until deputy comes back to take her to hospital for a check-up.

Joanie looks bashful as she thanks Tess and Tess can’t help but hug the girl after everything that happened today.

India takes Joanie back to the staff room as Tess starts towards the deputy’s car, him meeting her halfway. Smiling as she looks down for a moment before looking back up at him, Tess notes the way his eyes crinkle and he rubs the back of his head.

“Thank you for coming, deputy.”

“It is my job. Plus, I don’t mind seein’ a douchbag gettin’ beaten by such a strong lady like yourself.” A grin appears on his face, his eyes gleaming as he bits his lip.

It stirs something in her chest, something warm and nice so she smiles right back. Then, she does something unseemly in this situation as she perches her hip and quirks her brow.

“Are you flirtin’ with me, deputy?”

“Not at all, ma’am. Just statin’ the truth,” he tells her sounding frank, though his voice betrays how amused his is by this exchange.

“Pretty brave of you. Being so honest.”

Tess wonders why she is continuing with this, if she’s out of her mind.

“You mind?”

Tess laughs then, just for a moment forgetting the reason he is even there and starts retreating towards the motel.

“Goodbye, deputy Walsh. Thanks for your help.”

As he puts his cap back on, he tips his head to her, clearly smirking.

 “G’day to you, Miss Hardy.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and/or comment on the fic, it really makes my day.
> 
> If you want, you can leave a prompt for this 'verse on my tumblr or here in the comments
> 
> Find me on tumblr at lightblindingme :D


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